New York State Prisoners Will Receive FREE Tablets by Summer

The tablets are being donated at no cost to tax payers but are essentially being donated in an effort to milk the inmates families for cash.

Photo: Ethan Miller, Getty Images

In a move that has got a lot of New Yorkers scratching their heads Anthony Annucci, acting commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, announced last week that the state would be launching a new tablet program this summer that will give prisoners access to e-books, music and a supervised e-mail program.

The new tablet program comes and no cost to tax payers in fact a company called J Pay that makes the tablets will be donating everything from the tablets themselves to installing the needed infrastructure and any additional maintenance.

The number one complaint I have seen from New Yorkers since the announcement was made is why isn't this company donating these tablets to places like schools, libraries, or to the under privileged? Well, my friend that is because the company, J Pay, can't build a revenue stream off children and the under privileged but they can off of inmates or more specifically an inmates family.

You see the inmates have to pay to use the apps on the tablets and for every email they send and since the inmates themselves don't exactly have an income it's their families that end up footing the bill. While I admit it's probably nice for family members to have another way to communicate with their loved ones behind bars but what a lot of people don't understand that it's not just the inmates being punished by being locked up but their families as well.

Not only are they without their loved ones but they really get hit in the pocket when it comes to trying to communicate or provide some small amenities for them because everything is priced at a pretty considerable mark up, from phone calls to toiletries. Personally I feel like this an added burden to families of inmates regardless if they want to provide such luxuries to their incarcerated family members or not. Plus the state isn't even making any money off this new initiative so I'm not sure why they are so open to providing said luxuries to people who are supposed to be being punished by the state.

What do you think about the new tablet program? Let us know in the comments.